Hard-Cooked Eggs

[plunk]

Whipping up a batch of deviled eggs for the big game tomorrow (Go blue!), and I'm not looking forward to all the peeling of the hard-cooked eggs. I feel like I've tried every gimmick and technique for peeling, and I've had mixed and inconsistent results. Can anybody recommend a method that ensures an easy peel every time? Thanks.

[Demetrius]

After hard boiling eggs for the five or so minutes, I drain the water immediately in the sink and then fill the pot with cold water. The cracking and peeling part of the task tends to go relatively quickly. At least more so than letting the eggs sit in the hot water bath and rest for a bit.

[xcanuck]

Whipping up a batch of deviled eggs for the big game tomorrow (Go blue!), and I'm not looking forward to all the peeling of the hard-cooked eggs. I feel like I've tried every gimmick and technique for peeling, and I've had mixed and inconsistent results. Can anybody recommend a method that ensures an easy peel every time? Thanks.

My first ever kitchen job was working as the solo cook in a fern bar back in the late 70s. I used to have to hard boil and peel over three dozen eggs every morning for spinach salad and egg salad sandwhiches. All I did, after boiling, was cool them in cold tap water for about five minutes and then roll them on the cutting board while gently applying pressure. The shells pretty much come off in one or two pieces.

My wife is dragging my sorry ass down to the Pour House to watch the game with the rest of the UM alumni (I'm Canadian! I'm psyched for the Grey Cup, not some college game!). I wonder if the Wolverines will get some emotional motivation due to the death of Bo Schembechler this morning. I don't mean to be callous about it, but I have a feeling that it won't really bother Bo's ghost if Lloyd Carr asks the team to "win one for Bo" (especially if they do beat OSU).

[Poivrot Farci]

The magic is science.

[StephenB]

The best way to shell the hard-boiled eggs is:

After they've cooked, put them in cool water.

Tap the large end against the sink, deflating the air pocket. Then squeeze the whole thing gently, making a hundred cracks.

Peel the shell off. It's a cinch.

Some people advocate adding a spoonfull of vinegar to the cool water. I have not found that made any difference.

For my deviled egg recipe, check the Spring Picnic guide.

[zoramargolis]

My understanding is that very fresh eggs are difficult to peel. Eggs that are two to three weeks old will peel more smoothly and look prettier.

[plunk]

Thanks for all the tips - I'll certainly give them a try. By the way, does the cooking method matter? I've always let them sit in the water - off the heat - right after the water first boils. Should I boil them the whole time?

[dmwine]

Thanks for all the tips - I'll certainly give them a try. By the way, does the cooking method matter? I've always let them sit in the water - off the heat - right after the water first boils. Should I boil them the whole time?

I agree with your cooking method - 13-15 minutes off the heat immediately after the water reaches a simmer, or 187 degrees. Boiling them is risky, IMHO.

But the peeling tips up above make me wanna go home and cook me up some eggs! Does Ray's the Classics sell their steak tartare for take-out?

[hillvalley]

My understanding is that very fresh eggs are difficult to peel. Eggs that are two to three weeks old will peel more smoothly and look prettier.

You've got it. The fresher the egg the harder it is to peel. When I used to work at the farmers market we would have customers complain regularly that the eggs wouldn't peel

[Ilaine]

I just bought a bag of hard cooked eggs from Wegmann's and they taste just like home cooked. Smallish but good enough for devilled eggs. Not organic, but perfectly peeled.

[DaRiv18]

Made some this morn and this thread caught my eye. I highly recommend Jacque Pepin's tip, which is to use a thumb tack to punch a small hole in the shell before cooking. This allows the gas to escape as it cooks, so you don't get the slimy green tint around the yolk, nor does it stink up your fridge during storage.

[Banco]

Made some this morn and this thread caught my eye. I highly recommend Jacque Pepin's tip, which is to use a thumb tack to punch a small hole in the shell before cooking. This allows the gas to escape as it cooks, so you don't get the slimy green tint around the yolk, nor does it stink up your fridge during storage.

The hole in the shell allows the gasses to escape while cooking and prevents the shell from cracking, but you'll still end up with a greenish yolk if you don't let the eggs sit in fresh cold water after they've been cooked. (My German mom would always call this process "schrecken" -- to "scare" the eggs.) That also makes them far easier to peel.

[goodeats]

What would be a nice alternative for those of us who no longer have thumb tacks (or nails)?

[Pat]

What would be a nice alternative for those of us who no longer have thumb tacks (or nails)?

A straight pin should work, and there are actually implements (egg piercers?) sold for this particular use. I don't own one, but I know they exist

[zoramargolis]

What would be a nice alternative for those of us who no longer have thumb tacks (or nails)?

I keep a few pushpins stuck in the framing under one of my cabinets for just this purpose. A large-bore sewing needle would work, or one of those sharp dental picks.

The "green" around the yolk is a by product of overcooking a hard boiled egg. If put your eggs in a pot of cold water, bring it to a rolling boil, then turn the flame off and let the eggs sit for 30 minutes, you will get perfectly cooked eggs with no grayish green around the yolk.

[Banco]

What would be a nice alternative for those of us who no longer have thumb tacks (or nails)?

Any pin will do. I use a trussing needle.

ETA: I remember Pepin saying that letting the eggs rest in cold water draws out the hydrogen sulfide, the reaction of which with iron in the yolk causes the green ring. I imagine this would help even if the eggs are overcooked slightly.

[DaRiv18]

Huh, I just follow JP's way which is bring the water to a soft boil, add the eggs for about 8 minutes, drain, crack, and peel. That works for me. I thought I recalled JP's technique and rationale accurately. However, Harold McGee backs up much of what Banco and zoramargolis say, and says the pushpin approach has been debunked (for arresting discoloration, at least).

[zoramargolis]

Huh, I just follow JP's way which is bring the water to a soft boil, add the eggs for about 8 minutes, drain, crack, and peel. That works for me. I thought I recalled JP's technique and rationale accurately. However, Harold McGee backs up much of what Banco and zoramargolis say, and says the pushpin approach has been debunked (for arresting discoloration, at least).

The pinhole in the larger end of the egg prevents the egg from cracking while cooking, but that is only needed if you are putting cold eggs into boiling water. If you start the eggs in cold water and then bring the pot to a boil, the eggs won't crack.

[weezy]

I just use one of my small knives, grab it al a Psycho, and gently tap tap tap with it in the fat end of the egg until I get a hole thru to the air bubble, and twist the tip and egg a little bit to round it out..

[Dr. Delicious]

I just followed the Better Homes & Gardens technique, which said to put eggs in a pan, just cover them with cold water, bring to a rapid boil, remove from heat and cover for 15 mins. This worked perfectly for me.

[dcs]

Pot of cold water. Boil for 20 minutes (from cold start). Dump out the hot water. Add cold water. Works every time for me. No green ring.

[Sundae in the Park]

The best way to shell the hard-boiled eggs is:

After they've cooked, put them in cool water.

Tap the large end against the sink, deflating the air pocket. Then squeeze the whole thing gently, making a hundred cracks.

Peel the shell off. It's a cinch.

This technique works so well that I can make deviled eggs again. I'd quit for a long while because I thought the eggs hated me and were getting in one last laugh...

[dcs]

Maybe you should check out Eggies, though it would seem to me that this "solution" is more complicated than the problem it is trying to solve. They are marketing this as perfect for "working people, stay-at-home moms, babysitters and grandparents." I caught an ad during a re-run of Adam-12, so they clearly mean what they say about going after the grandparents. Be advised.

[Pat]

On Easter, someone gave me a hand-dyed egg that had been out of refrigeration for a while. Someone else who had one from the same batch tried to crack it and it all broke apart. It was a mess. I took mine home and put in the refrigerator. I had no trouble getting it out of the shell the next day. Now I either peel them immediately after boiling and putting in cold water or after refrigerating several hours or overnight. Getting them really cold seems to be key.

[Saycheese]

Coincidentally, Eggies were featured in the New York Times business section last Sunday as a rare example of an amateur invention that succeeds. The boiled eggs don't come out completely egg-shaped, however. They have a flat side, so it looks like 3/4 of an egg. It's a neat idea anyway.

[dcs]

After hard boiling some eggs this morning, there was one egg with an obvious crack in its shell. After dumping the hot water and letting them rest in cold water with plenty of ice cubes, I dried them off and transferred them to a bowl to put in the refrigerator, I'll be damned if I can find the egg with the cracked shell. It is like the shell has healed itself. This has happened to me several times before. Can anyone explain this phenomenon? Is it real, an illusion, or just incredibly bad eyesight?

[monavano]

After hard boiling some eggs this morning, there was one egg with an obvious crack in its shell. After dumping the hot water and letting them rest in cold water with plenty of ice cubes, I dried them off and transferred them to a bowl to put in the refrigerator, I'll be damned if I can find the egg with the cracked shell. It is like the shell has healed itself. This has happened to me several times before. Can anyone explain this phenomenon? Is it real, an illusion, or just incredibly bad eyesight?

Just a guess here, perhaps the cold caused the shell to contract and adhere to the egg.

[squidsdc]

After last year's mess where my yolks were too underdone to last in salt water (fine for eating though) I consulted this thread for some tips. Last year I followed ATK to a "T"--this year I used the ATK recipe shown in the Family Cookbook and modified it a bit. The recipe says to use 2 Q water with 1T salt in a medium sauce pan for 6 eggs. Bring cold water to a boil, turn off, cover and remove from heat and let sit for 10 minutes exactly. Then move to a bowl of ice water and let sit for 5 minutes.

I used a thermometer to verify the water had reached a true boil, then removed from heat, covered and let sit for 12 minutes before moving to the ice water for five. I used older eggs, and they were very easy to peel. Success!

[Pat]

I don't know what this is worth to anyone, but I'll share anyway. Recently I decided to revert to my mother's method for making hard boiled eggs. I had been having way too much trouble getting them to peel (and I never use very fresh eggs, so that's not it). When I was growing up, I learned to make the eggs by lowering them into boiling water from a large spoon. The only problem with this method is that they may crack as you are lowering them into the water. That's actually why I stopped doing this in favor of starting the eggs in cold water.

I can't recall how long my mom cooked them for, but it was somewhere in the 15 minute range. I've been doing 12-13 minutes and putting the eggs into ice water as soon as they come off the heat, and have had no problems peeling the eggs at all. They also seem done just about the right amount too.

[johnb]

Forget everything you've heard about how to make hard-boiled eggs. The best way (I recently found out about this -- I think on Chowhound) is NOT to boil them but to STEAM them. It works. Even fairly fresh eggs will peel easily.

Put your eggs some type of strainer, preferably with legs, that will fit easily/loosely into whatever pot you will use and can be lowered in easily (I use one of those folding steamer things, which is fine for up to 6-8 eggs in a batch). Put about one inch of water in the pot. Boil, then gently lower the strainer with eggs. Cover and steam for 10-12 minutes. Stop, and pour in a goodly quantity of cold water to stop the cooking. Remove and peel in the usual manner.

Works like a charm.

[zoramargolis]

Forget everything you've heard about how to make hard-boiled eggs. The best way (I recently found out about this -- I think on Chowhound) is NOT to boil them but to STEAM them. It works. Even fairly fresh eggs will peel easily.

Put your eggs some type of strainer, preferably with legs, that will fit easily/loosely into whatever pot you will use and can be lowered in easily (I use one of those folding steamer things, which is fine for up to 6-8 eggs in a batch). Put about one inch of water in the pot. Boil, then gently lower the strainer with eggs. Cover and steam for 10-12 minutes. Stop, and pour in a goodly quantity of cold water to stop the cooking. Remove and peel in the usual manner.

Works like a charm.

How fresh is "fairly fresh"? Does it work with very fresh eggs?

[johnb]

How fresh is "fairly fresh"? Does it work with very fresh eggs?

My observation has been that it works better than boiling for whatever the age of the eggs. Older eggs are better than fresher, just as with boiling, but the steaming seems to help for all ages of eggs. I have steamed eggs that as far as I knew were very fresh (until recently we had a local supplier) and they definitely peeled more easily than they would have. But I haven't tried both methods side-by-side -- maybe that's the next experiment.

[monavano]

I recently made deviled eggs. I used my usual method of placing the eggs in cold water and bringing to a boil, then turning the heat off and let it sit, covered, for x minutes.

I transfered the eggs into an ice bath for a few minutes (where I'd usually be done) and thought, "what the heck", so I returned the eggs to the hot water, then back to the ice bath.

It helped. It's not fool-proof, but I've found my efforts to peel HB eggs very frustrating, I believe because I'm buying more fresh eggs from the farmers markets over the past few years. Sometimes, I wind up with a tattered mess

[lperry]

Hot tip for peeling fresh hard-boiled eggs from my cousin, caretaker of Iris and Cooper, two backyard hens.

1. Boil however you like, then lift them out of the water (leave the hot water on the stove) and cool completely in an ice bath. Get them really cold.

2. Now crack them gently, and when you are ready to peel one...

3. Set it back into simmering water for a few seconds. I rolled them around to make sure all the shell got heated.

4. Now pull it out, and peel immediately.

5. Lather, rinse, repeat.

I did a dozen farmers' market super-fresh eggs this morning for a cookout this afternoon, and they peeled like a dream. I even left one in the cold water as a control and tried to peel it. Half way through the messy, shredded, horrific process, I dipped it in the hot water and the remaining shell pulled right off. The simmering water makes the shell expand over the cold egg inside, and it slips right off. Science!

[monavano]

I recently made deviled eggs. I used my usual method of placing the eggs in cold water and bringing to a boil, then turning the heat off and let it sit, covered, for x minutes.

I transfered the eggs into an ice bath for a few minutes (where I'd usually be done) and thought, "what the heck", so I returned the eggs to the hot water, then back to the ice bath.

It helped. It's not fool-proof, but I've found my efforts to peel HB eggs very frustrating, I believe because I'm buying more fresh eggs from the farmers markets over the past few years. Sometimes, I wind up with a tattered mess

I recently gave baking soda a try and it has helped tremendously.